To create an online course with video, you work through six steps: define the outcome students will reach, plan modules and lessons as the path there, write a learning objective, exercise, and script for each lesson, batch-record all lessons, produce the videos, and test the course with a small group. The most common mistake is starting with gear and software instead of the outcome.
This guide walks you through each step, from first idea to published course.
What makes a good online course?
An online course is a structured learning experience that takes students, lesson by lesson, to a clearly defined outcome. What separates it from a pile of videos is structure: each lesson builds on the one before, and at the end there’s a skill, not just information.
Good courses share three things:
- A concrete promise: “By the end, you’ll set up your first AI automation yourself” instead of “Everything about AI.”
- A clear through line: The lesson order follows from the path to the outcome.
- Exercises: Students apply what they’ve learned. That’s what turns watching into doing.
Step 1: Define the outcome and your audience
Before you plan a single lesson, answer two questions in writing:
- Who is this course for? Describe the person as specifically as you can: prior knowledge, starting point, typical problems.
- What can they do afterward? Phrase an outcome that can be checked.
Validate the topic before you produce
A course is a lot of work, so check for real demand first:
- What questions do viewers, clients, or coaching clients ask you again and again?
- Which of your videos get the most follow-up questions?
- Are there people willing to join a waitlist or test an early version?
A course that answers a question you already get all the time is off to a good start.
Step 2: Plan your modules and lessons
Your course outline is the backbone of the whole thing. Work backward from the outcome: which stages does someone need to go through to get there? Each stage becomes a module, and each individual step becomes a lesson.
What a course outline can look like
This example shows the structure of a fictional course, “AI Assistants for Everyday Work”:
| Module | Lesson | Learning objective |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Foundations | 1.1 What an AI assistant can and can’t do | Students realistically assess where AI fits |
| 1.2 Your first good prompt | Students write a prompt with a role, a task, and a format | |
| 2 Apply | 2.1 Answer emails faster | Students build a reusable template |
| 2.2 Summarize documents | Students check a summary for errors | |
| 3 Safeguard | 3.1 Keeping privacy in mind | Students decide which data they can share |
For every lesson, write down
- Learning objective: One sentence starting with an observable verb: set up, write, check, decide.
- Exercise: What does the student do after the video?
- Shooting notes: Facecam, screen recording, or both? Which sample data?
One lesson, one learning objective. Cram two objectives into a lesson and it gets long and hard to look things up in.
Step 3: Write your scripts
For video courses, a mix of facecam and screen recording works well. The facecam introduces, explains the bigger picture, and motivates. The screen recording shows the concrete steps.
Each lesson script follows a simple pattern:
- What is this about, and why does it matter?
- The explanation or demo.
- The most common pitfalls.
- The exercise and the handoff to the next lesson.
For scripts that sound natural on camera, see how to write a facecam script.
Which video format fits which lesson?
Not every lesson needs the same format. Choose based on the learning objective:
| Format | Best for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Facecam only | Context, motivation, mental models | “Why AI output always needs a human check” |
| Screen recording with facecam | Software steps students should follow along with | Creating a template in the app |
| Slides with facecam | Concepts, processes, comparisons | The building blocks of a good prompt |
| Demo with error analysis | Spotting and fixing common mistakes | Correcting a flawed summary |
Mixing formats across the course keeps attention up. Just keep the style consistent: same colors, same fonts, same facecam position.
Step 4: Plan your shoot day
Courses are made up of many lessons. Record each one on a different day and you’re resetting lights, camera, and mic every time, and you’ll look a little different in every lesson. It’s more efficient to hold one shoot day and record all lessons back to back.
Shoot day checklist
- All scripts finished and read out loud.
- Same outfit, same lighting, same background for a consistent look across the course.
- Announce each lesson: Say “Lesson 1,” “Lesson 2,” and so on out loud before each one. It makes sorting footage in the edit much easier.
- Plan breaks: Water, rest your voice, check batteries and storage.
- Record your screen separately: You can do that calmly before or after.
Step 5: Produce
Production turns raw footage into a course that feels all of a piece. The key is fixed rules for every lesson:
- The same intro and outro in every lesson.
- The same colors, fonts, and overlays across the whole course.
- Captions for anyone learning on mute or in a second language.
- Chapters or section titles in longer lessons so students can jump to what they need.
- Supporting materials: Checklists, templates, or worksheets for the exercises.
Step 6: Test, launch, improve
Before you announce the course widely, have a small group work through it. Don’t just listen to what they say; watch where they get stuck. Which exercise gets skipped? Where do questions pile up? Which lesson gets rewatched?
After launch, a course is never quite done. Software changes, new questions come up, better examples appear. Plan regular updates and swap out individual lessons instead of reshooting the whole course. That’s easiest when every lesson stands on its own.
Keep the legal side in view
Selling online courses raises legal questions that depend on where you sell and what you offer, such as refund and withdrawal rights, taxes, and privacy. If you sell to students in Germany, for example, paid courses with progress checks may fall under the German Distance Learning Protection Act (FernUSG). When in doubt, have your offer reviewed.
Not legal advice: this section is general information and doesn’t replace a legal review of your specific situation.
How Macreto helps you create an online course
Macreto has a dedicated course mode, available starting with the Creator plan. You give it a topic, and Macreto creates a researched course outline with modules and lessons, each with a learning objective, an exercise, and shooting notes. Every lesson becomes its own video.
On shoot day, you record all lessons back to back. Macreto splits the recording into individual lessons at your “Lesson 1, Lesson 2…” announcements. During production, it handles the edit, slides, animations, AI images, and music, with your real voice and in the style of your brand kit. At the end, you export all lessons together as a ZIP with a course overview and upload them to the course platform of your choice.
For an overview of how Macreto fits course work specifically, see the page for course creators.